"The heat is stifling / Burning me up from the inside..."
Monday, July 5th, 2010 11:54 pmFirst of all, I am very much looking forward to Thursday, when the high temperature is expected to be 92° F. I really should not be looking forward to an expected high of 92°, but it is an obvious improvement over tomorrow's predicted high of 103°. In Celsius that's 39° versus 33°, which doesn't sound nearly so bad. I would dearly love to have temperatures of 39° Fahrenheit right now.
Ahem. Anyway, last Wednesday I had made the mistake of spending several hours of a pleasant day in a shopping mall hunting for clothes. Thursday I had planned to enjoy the weather doing something much more suitable, such as going for a long walk in a park. My body had other ideas, so I felt lucky to make it to a farmers market before it closed. Since I got there later than I'd planned, I was worried about not being able to get any blackberries, but it turned out that my fears were unfounded as three or four farmers were selling blackberries that day. Hooray! Also something that brightened my week: My old friend Rory (we've known each other more than a quarter century by now) sent me a small package: a copy of the Nik Kershaw CD Human Racing! First album I ever bought and the only Nik Kershaw album I'd never had on CD before now. Since both record player and cassette deck have been unusable for years, it's wonderful to finally listen to that album again. It was our friend Jenny who introduced us to NiK's music, and after I bought the first two albums, the three of us sat in the back room of my home, listening to the songs over and over and trying to sing along.
So, music and one farmers market were the high points of last week. I did have hopes that my body would allow me to do something fun on Friday, the last relatively cool day. No such luck. Friday, I was exhausted and feeling generally icky, so did very little. Saturday, with somewhat warmer weather, I at least walked to a grocery store for various essentials--plus more blackberries. Okay, after buying fresh, locally-grown berries all summer so far, I knew that the supermarket berries would be a disappointment, but I was surprised by how disappointing they turned out to be. Some blackberries were bitter, some were vinegary, and some were moldy by day two. Though a few berries did taste wonderful, that package as a whole was nowhere near worth the price.
I want to go to a farmers market tomorrow to buy blackberries, but not in 103° heat. Argh.
Anyway, yesterday was Independence Day here in the USA, and I saw a firework! I didn't expect to, since I was tired and not in the mood to leave the house to provide food for the local mosquito population, but somehow between the fireworks extravaganzas of the various little towns around and the random explosions set off by neighbors, one bright green & blue sparkling skyflower appeared as I was washing dishes. That one made my day. Otherwise, I spent most of the day reading.
Today, Monday, July 5: Hotter than yesterday; not as hot as tomorrow. Sleep-deprived thanks to neighborhood explosions through the wee hours followed by a collection of odd dreams. Managed to drag myself out for a short walk in the afternoon, something less than a mile to someplace more comfortable than home. The poor little window air conditioner can't really handle this weather, but it's trying with all its cold little heart. The plan for tomorrow is to find some way--any way--to get myself to a library or bookstore or some other air-conditioned place where I may spend the bulk of the day.
92° later in the week? I can live with that.
Ahem. Anyway, last Wednesday I had made the mistake of spending several hours of a pleasant day in a shopping mall hunting for clothes. Thursday I had planned to enjoy the weather doing something much more suitable, such as going for a long walk in a park. My body had other ideas, so I felt lucky to make it to a farmers market before it closed. Since I got there later than I'd planned, I was worried about not being able to get any blackberries, but it turned out that my fears were unfounded as three or four farmers were selling blackberries that day. Hooray! Also something that brightened my week: My old friend Rory (we've known each other more than a quarter century by now) sent me a small package: a copy of the Nik Kershaw CD Human Racing! First album I ever bought and the only Nik Kershaw album I'd never had on CD before now. Since both record player and cassette deck have been unusable for years, it's wonderful to finally listen to that album again. It was our friend Jenny who introduced us to NiK's music, and after I bought the first two albums, the three of us sat in the back room of my home, listening to the songs over and over and trying to sing along.
So, music and one farmers market were the high points of last week. I did have hopes that my body would allow me to do something fun on Friday, the last relatively cool day. No such luck. Friday, I was exhausted and feeling generally icky, so did very little. Saturday, with somewhat warmer weather, I at least walked to a grocery store for various essentials--plus more blackberries. Okay, after buying fresh, locally-grown berries all summer so far, I knew that the supermarket berries would be a disappointment, but I was surprised by how disappointing they turned out to be. Some blackberries were bitter, some were vinegary, and some were moldy by day two. Though a few berries did taste wonderful, that package as a whole was nowhere near worth the price.
I want to go to a farmers market tomorrow to buy blackberries, but not in 103° heat. Argh.
Anyway, yesterday was Independence Day here in the USA, and I saw a firework! I didn't expect to, since I was tired and not in the mood to leave the house to provide food for the local mosquito population, but somehow between the fireworks extravaganzas of the various little towns around and the random explosions set off by neighbors, one bright green & blue sparkling skyflower appeared as I was washing dishes. That one made my day. Otherwise, I spent most of the day reading.
Today, Monday, July 5: Hotter than yesterday; not as hot as tomorrow. Sleep-deprived thanks to neighborhood explosions through the wee hours followed by a collection of odd dreams. Managed to drag myself out for a short walk in the afternoon, something less than a mile to someplace more comfortable than home. The poor little window air conditioner can't really handle this weather, but it's trying with all its cold little heart. The plan for tomorrow is to find some way--any way--to get myself to a library or bookstore or some other air-conditioned place where I may spend the bulk of the day.
92° later in the week? I can live with that.